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Sunday, Nov 19, 2017 12:51 PM

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Bengals at Broncos Postgame Quotes

BENGALS HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS

* *

*On tonight’s game *

“Obviously, that was 60 minutes of hard-fought football. With the war of attrition there today on defense, we had a lot of guys in there at the end of the football game that did not get a lot a lot of reps during the week, so that was hard. Field position today—the defense was playing on short fields and did a really good job offensively. We needed it and coming up with touchdown drives. Obviously we had the blocked punt, which hurt us at the beginning of the game, but we came back though. The blocked field goal before half time was a big play on special teams. A lot of positives today, but still things obviously to clean up. We had some positive runs and they ganged up on us a little bit there at the end too. We are having a hard time stringing two positive runs together, but I thought the offense and the plan and so forth today, they grounded out and I feel good about it.”

*On Cincinnati winning in Denver for the first time since 1975 *

“I’m glad you didn’t tell the players that earlier in the week. I would have had to answer that question all the time. There is no correlation to other trips and they have had a good football team here for a while. You just have to come and play and win, and today we prevailed.”

On how the second half was a defensive game

“I really can’t tell you. I cannot tell you this guy did this and that guy did that right now, I am sorry.”

*On how CB Dre Kirkpatrick set the mood for the game with his interception *

“It was obviously a big play after the blocked punt when they drove in there. Not only did they not gain points, but we were able to take the ball down to the other end, so it was a big play by Dre.”

On if Kirkpatrick gets a pat on the back for that interception

“No, they are paid to make those plays.”

On whether freezing K Brandon McManus at the end of the first half is the standard call

“It is not always a standard. That was a long one, dog gone it if he did not make it the first time around so I felt good about that when he made it. If he would have missed it, I would have really felt bad. It gives our guys a chance to get adjusted and get in and focus on the football, and obviously [CB] KeiVarae [Russell] had a great get-off.”

On Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict

“I was just asked that before you walked in. It’s hard for me to single him out. Fortunately for today, we prevailed. The defense played on some short fields early in the football game and really for the first three quarters. We were able to flip it there at the end, which was good. The offense, when they needed to, put some touchdown drives together and that was great.”

On QB Andy Dalton calling a timeout before A.J. Green’s touchdown

“We were down on the clock was more than anything. That’s all. We were down on the clock, we were a little late getting out of the huddle and we wanted to flip the formation. You don’t want to give ‘58’ (OLB Von Miller) a head start when it’s going down to zero.”

On whether he or Dalton called the timeout

“Andy was calling it at the same time. It doesn’t matter whose call it was. We don’t want to take a delay of game penalty in that situation.”

*On whether the offense changed the play during the timeout *

“No, they didn’t.”

On playoff possibilities

“We’ve got to keep playing. I showed them that a year ago, we were in a situation where someone was going to get hot and break out of things. Last year it was Green Bay. They ran the table and this year it’s going to be somebody else. There are a lot of teams in the situation we were in starting today and teams are going to get hot and get going. We play some of them and they play each other. So we have an opportunity if we just handle our business, that’s what’s key. We don’t worry about anything else, just keep getting better every time we come out and understand the plan. I thought today we did an excellent job of executing the plan for the most part. We will see what the tape shows.”

QUARTERBACK ANDY DALTON

* *

On Cincinnati winning in Denver for the first time since 1975

"I didn't know that stat. It feels good anytime you can win—it’s tough to win on the road. For us, this is big. We have to use this momentum going forward."

* *

*On the offense making clutch plays *

"When the time came and we needed to make a play, we made it. It's something that we can build on. We want to have more yards. We want to have more drives and different things like that, but at the end of the day, we got the job done."

On the gameplan on third downs

"I think it's just one of those things where we had the opportunity to hit [WR] AJ [Green] over the top. Our guys made plays, I think that's what it came down to. As much man-coverage as they [Broncos] play, we had the opportunity to make plays and we hit them."

On his play with WR Alex Erickson

"Alex did a good job of getting open and getting around them. That's one of those things that sometimes a guy can get grabbed at that point, but for him, he was able to get open and it was a great route by him."

On whether he feels the offense is finding its groove

"I think that last week we had the big one to [WR] A.J. [Green] and another one down the middle to [HB] Joe [Mixon]. Today, when we had those chances, we hit them. I think that's what this comes down to and what helped us win today."

*On allowing WR A.J. Green to make a play *

"A.J. is so good and he was able to win quickly at the line of scrimmage. With that, you just have to give him a chance and he made a great catch."

On if he knew that he was going to throw a touchdown to Green before the play

"It was one of those things where if you get the opportunity, we're going to let A.J. go make the play."

* *

On looking ahead

"I think, for us, we just need to keep stringing wins together. This was big for us. If we had lost this one, it would have set us even farther behind. [Head Coach] Marvin [Lewis] has said that there is a team that is in the position that we're in right now that gets hot every year. We're doing everything we can to make it us."

* *

On his confidence in the offense

"I think even the couple sacks that may have happened today, some of that was my fault. I was just holding onto the ball and trying to get out and make a play happen. But I thought they did a great job. I think we have to keep playing games like this and keep protecting like that and we'll give ourselves a good opportunity to win these games. I think if you keep taking the deeper shots down the field, you have to protect a little longer. I thought our guys did a great job today and, hopefully, we can carry that going forward.

* *

On setting up the final touchdown

“At that point I was trying to make a check and wasn’t able to get it off. We called a timeout, came back out and A.J. made a great play. The way they lined up, we thought we had the chance with him 1-on-1. He won early and so we just gave him a chance out there.”

*On converting a third down on a scramble on fourth down *

“Getting a first down there was huge. I was able to do just enough to get it. It was one of those things that we’d been handing that off all game, and at that point, he took the back and I was able to get the first.”

On moving forward

“Everything is still out in front of us, we just need to keep winning. Our goal now is to beat the Browns and win this week.”

On the ability to win one-on-one battles

“That was huge. When we needed the play the most, we threw it to our best player on our team and he made the play. It was him today that helped seal it, but you never know who it’s going to be.”

On Erickson’s touchdown

“He’s reliable. He’s always in the right spot and he’s a great player. He just did what we’ve seen all the time in practice. He’s a great guy to have out there. That’s the way this team plays. There are a lot of one-on-one matchups, he ran a great route, got around him and got open.”

On the overall play of the offense

“There are a couple more third downs we wish we’d converted, but for us to score touchdowns on third down is huge, and when we got down in the red zone to score touchdowns, we have to keep that going.”

On CB Dre Kirkpatrick’s interception return

“I was hoping he was going to have enough gas to make it all the way, that’s a long run. I still don’t know how the ball came out, but it all worked out. I got a touchdown pass out of it. I looked at the stats and I was 2-of-3 with zero yards and a touchdown. I don’t know if anyone’s had zero yards before and a touchdown, but it worked. However you get points—I’m sure he wishes he got the pick-six but I’m glad I got the touchdown pass. At the end of the day, we got in the end zone.

BENGALS LINEBACKER VONTAZE BURFICT

* *

*On the Bengals defense *

“We did good. Something we kept saying before the game was to have faith. ‘Vinny’ (MLB Vincent Rey) kept telling us to have faith. When things are not going our way we still have faith and everybody is standing together.”

On Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick’s interception

“Dre picked that play. Dre picked that same play off in practice. He had been waiting for that. He told me last night that he was waiting for the runner’s route and I’m just happy he ran that 101.”

On his forced fumble that led to the winning touchdown

“[RB] C.J. [Anderson] is a friend of mine. It’s always a physical game when I play him because he is like a bowling ball. I have known him since college and he is a good player. I have been watching him. He is from California just like I am from California. I’m a big fan of his, but when I see him break through the hole I know I need to get ready. I saw which side he had the ball on so I just put my helmet on that side of the ball and it just popped up.”

* *

On stopping the Broncos offense at the end of the game

“It was huge for us to do that. It was big. We kept telling each other before that last drive that it is going to be a four and out. I think everybody stepped up. Before we went on that drive, ‘Pauly Gue’ (Bengals Defensive Coordinator Paul Guenther) was telling us the routes we should expect. Literally everything he told us to expect, that’s what they ran. It was huge. That’s why we are the defense, to obviously win some games.”

BENGALS WIDE RECEIVER ALEX ERICKSON

* *

On his rapport with Bengals QB Andy Dalton

“That’s built over time and just being in the right spot. He’ll find you because there’s no one better at picking apart defenses like Andy.”

On winning the turnover battle today

“Those turnovers are huge. It just adds more possessions to your offense. That’s how you score points. Any time you get more possessions, you’ve got to make the most of them. We were able to capitalize and come out with the victory.”

On the Bengals’ defense making a stop on the Broncos’ final drive

“It’s huge. We wanted to keep driving and we had the ball, but that’s the way it goes. It was a good team effort. We went down, scored, got the ball back, kept driving a little bit and took time off the clock. The defense was able to stop them.”

On getting a win on the road

“We needed a win badly. We knew we had to come in here. Time is running out, so we know that we’ve got to start stacking them. But before you win two, you’ve got to win one, so we knew we had to get this one tonight and we were able to do that.”

On beating Broncos CB Aqib Talib on the third down

“I just came in motion. I had a route. I could go up the seam or cut across his face. He stayed high, so I was able to cut across his face and Andy found me.”

On moving in motion on his touchdown

“Same thing. I had the option to cut across and I thought he was sitting low enough that I could run by him and I was able to run by him and Andy found me again.”

On the two critical plays in today’s game

“I think that’s built with practice reps and built over time and teammates having trust in you and having faith in you to make those plays. Then when the opportunity presents itself. You’ve got to step up and make them.”

BENGALS WIDE RECEIVER A.J. GREEN

* *

On being more aggressive in the second half

“We had to be. They were playing a lot of man. We had to get the ball down the field. It’s hard to keep driving only getting three yards. Sometimes you have to take a shot down the field coming into the second half.”

On winning on the road

“We lost a couple on the road. So, getting this win in a tough environment, it gives us another tough boost of confidence that we needed.”

On his touchdown

“Very special. All the wide receivers played good today. Whenever our number is called we try to make the play.”

On other receivers getting into the rotation

“With the receivers, we rotate like this at practice. [Bengals QB] Andy [Dalton] is very familiar with all the receivers. [Bengals WR] Alex [Erickson] can do it all. We put a man in any position and he knows his position. The defense today played their butt off. We came out with the win.”

BENGALS CORNERBACK DRE KIRKPATRICK

* *

On his interception

“I was thinking breathe, breathe. [Bengals Head] Coach [Marvin Lewis] told us someone was going to go out there and make a play when we really needed it. Credit to our whole team—the defensive line, secondary and the linebackers. They played good, it’s their interception. I don’t take any credit for it, I just caught the ball. It’s their interception.”

*On what was he was thinking before he fumbled and recovered his interception return *

“They were coming from both ends and I was running this way. [WR Emmanuel] Sanders and [WR Demaryius] Thomas were coming. I tried to catch the ball and I thought they poked it out. I have to hold on to the ball. I didn’t know where they were at, it was just an act of the moment. I have to hold on to the ball, no excuses for it. I have to put that in.”

On the relief of getting a win today

“Yes, just seeing so many teams that lost and seeing the progression. We just played different today. I don’t think we played the way we have been playing. I feel like we played different, we bonded better today. It was a brotherhood. I felt like guys were backing up each other and guys were picking each other up. We just have to keep working on it and [we] have to keep working. The leaders on this team have to rise up. I feel good today; I just feel good.”

BENGALS WIDE RECEIVER BRANDON LAFELL

* *

On whether winning today helps the Bengals’ playoff chances

“We’re still in it. You look around the league, there’s a lot of teams [that are] 4-6, 5-5, so we’re right in the thick of things. We’ve just got to continue to put them together back-to-back.”

On the Bengals’ late score between QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green

“That was big time. The defense came out of halftime and told them to get them one touchdown and we were going to win this game. For us in the fourth quarter, I think this is the second week in a row having a big time touchdown in the fourth quarter to put us up. This time, the defense help the lead for us and won this game, so it was big for us.”

On if today’s win was a weight off the Bengals’ shoulders

“It’s a huge weight off just for this week. But we’ve just got to come out next week and continue to play good, solid football. Because tonight, special teams made plays. The offense made plays when we needed to and the defense held up. They held up and did their thing like they’ve been doing all year.”

On Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict

“That’s big time. The play that [Bengals CB] Dre Kirkpatrick made in the beginning of the game that set up a touchdown—we need plays like that every week.”

HEAD COACH VANCE JOSEPH

* *

*On injuries *

“As far as the game injuries, there is nothing to report right now.”

On his overall thoughts of the game

“With that being said, you are who you are. It’s our record. Tonight we had great effort. We moved the ball offensively, but we had two turnovers. They both led to points. That’s 13 points there. That’s the game again. Effort is good. Guys are making plays, but you can’t turn the ball over. That’s the night. You can’t do it.”

On President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway’s comment that the team has gotten a little soft

“John watched this team every day. He’s watched every meeting. He’s watched every practice. He watches every game. When he said that, I was initially offended. In some aspects, he’s right. When you’ve lost that many games in a row, you have to do things in a tougher manner. If you’re not winning, that’s an issue in football. Football is a physical, tough sport. So when you’re not winning, that word comes up. Again, I stepped back and thought about what he said. In some aspects, he’s right.”

On whether QB Paxton Lynch will start the next game

“We’ll see. We’re going to watch the tape and see where we are as an offense. Obviously, he’s healthy now. He’s a young player with talent. We’ll see.”

On why he decided to punt in Cincinnati territory in the third quarter instead of attempting a field goal

“It was a one-score game still. If you go for it there and don’t get it, it’s at midfield. It was a one score game. It wasn’t time for that.”

*On QB Brock Osweiler’s interception in the endzone *

“The interception? It’s cover-zero, we have a slam flat called. [WR] Cody [Latimer] beats the corner inside. He runs into the guy covering the slot player and the corner continues to go. He catches the ball in the end zone and runs back to the 1-yard line. That’s where we are right now.”

On whether he addressed Elway’s comments to the team

“We had a meeting last night. What we said is obviously private between me and the team.”

On his message to the team after this game

“I tell them to come back to work and continue to push. We have to win a football game. Obviously, the effort again has been there. That’s not our problem. Our problem is giving the football away. That has to stop. That comes from players playing better and the coaches coaching better. It’s all of us.”

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER VON MILLER

* *

On the defensive performance

“We played solid. They still had more points than us, so we didn’t do our job all the way. That leads to a loss. It’s a tough situation. It’s just a tough game. It’s just a tough deal that we’ve been dealt all the way.”

On his feelings after the game

“This one hurts. All of them hurt. This one hurts. This is the game that you wanted to get the energy back. This is the game you wanted—I feel like I went to Vegas and made a crazy bet and just lost it. I feel sick. I don’t feel like—I’m sick right now. The best cure for that is to get back in the lab, get back in there with your guys and just keep pushing. Just keep pushing and keep grinding. I still have all the faith in this football team, this organization and everybody. We just have to get the wins. I’m going to continue to push, grind and lead my guys.”

*On President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway’s comment that the team has gotten a little soft *

“He’s the head guy. His comments—he’s the boss. That’s what he said. He said it. I was kind of taken back by it, which you should be. If you have any type of emotion about you, if you play soft, your reaction should be, ‘What? I’m not soft.’ But, if you take a look back at it, the truth is that’s what we’ve been putting out there. That’s the type of team that we’ve developed into. That’s what we got. It’s the truth. He’s telling the truth.”

*On the message to the team moving forward *

“We just have to keep pushing. In all of the bad, there is always some good. We got ‘Sting Ray’ (DE Shane Ray) going. He got a sack today. The defense played solid, the No-Fly Zone is still the No-Fly Zone. There are some positives in there. You just have to focus on the positives and try to reinforce that. Reinforce that energy and put the chips all back in on the table and go back out there again. Bet it all again.”

On if he was injured during the game

“My feelings were just hurt, I’m good.”

*On whether he feels like there is still hope in the season *

“I still feel like there is hope. The best we can do is 9-7, that’s the very best we can do. Like I said, if I’m a betting man, I’m going to bet on the Broncos to win out. That’s just the type of guy I am. I’m going to reload and get back in there tomorrow and keep pushing. That’s just how I’m built.”

QUARTERBACK BROCK OSWEILER

* *

*On losing six consecutive games *

“This isn’t the culture here. The culture and, like you said, the standard is to win—win championships, win division championships, get to the playoffs every year and contend for Super Bowls. And right now, we’re not playing football like that, so it’s very frustrating.”

*On his performance *

“Bottom line, I didn’t make enough plays to win the game. So that’s my initial reaction. I need to see the tape before I put a full statement out there. As far as the interception goes, they played blitz zero down there. We were expecting them to play blitz zero on third down in the red area. We had a slant called and it’s one of those deals, it’s so quick. There’s two guys that come free. We can’t block them all in blitz zero, so you basically catch the ball as quick as you can. You throw the slant. [WR] Cody [Latimer] was going to have a touchdown, and unfortunately, a football play happened where him and the guy who was covering [Broncos WR] Emmanuel [Sanders] collided and the football was gift-wrapped for [CB Dre] Kirkpatrick right there, and he made a great play. But bottom line, no excuses. I can’t turn the football over. It’s something that we’ve talked about now going on over a month. Just protect the football, have zero turnovers at the end of the game and see where we are. And I think tonight, if we would’ve played a brand of football like that, we would’ve been in a much better positon. But at the end of the day, give credit to the Bengals. They came here, they had a great gameplan, they played hard and they forced two turnovers. We need to play better.”

On whether he thinks QB Paxton Lynch will start the next game

“I’m not worried about that. I’m never going to look over my shoulder. I’m just going to show up to the building every single day and be myself, work as hard as I possibly can and everything will take care of itself. That’s how I look at that.”

On his touchdown pass to WR Demaryius Thomas

“It was a new play we put in our gameplan for this week and it was something that it really gives us an opportunity to push the ball downfield. And with that, there’s two check-downs. It was actually a play that we called, it was the exact same play. We just called a different direction, the play before, and they brought pressure. So I had to take my hot [read]. We made a good play, a positive play, and then we came back to it and I was able to get the ball off to D.T. I wasn’t able to see it—I was on the ground—but from what I hear, D.T. (WR Demaryius Thomas) made an incredible play and I can’t wait to see it on film.”

*On whether his right shoulder was bothering him during the game and the performance by the defense *

“I’m really not worried about the injury. Bottom line, I’m able to throw a football, and if I’m able to throw a football, that’s good enough. This time of year in the league, everybody is hurt. It’s just a matter of how bad. I just want to give a ton of credit to our defense. I thought those guys came out here today, really set the tone, played extremely hard. Special teams did some great things for us, and really gave us great field position. And bottom line, I need to play better. I felt like the offensive line and backs did some tremendous things in the run game today. D.T. made some big plays. [WR] Emmanuel [Sanders] made big plays. A lot of the skill guys did. Bottom line, as the quarterback of the team, you need to protect the football and you need to find a way to make enough plays to win the game, and I wasn’t able to do that today. So that’s tough.”

*On trying to complete a pass in the red zone as he was being taken to the ground *

“I was just trying to throw the ball away. It’s one of those things that you talk about all the time. When you get to the red area, the worst thing you can do is take a sack. I take that back, the second-worst thing you can do is take a sack. The worst thing you can do is turn the ball over. So it’s one of those deals I’ll talk about with [Head] coach [Vance Joseph] tomorrow. Is that one of those things where you just take the sack or is that a good decision to try and throw it away? Once again, I was on the ground so it’s one of those deals I need to see on film and then talk to coach about tomorrow.”

RUNNING BACK C.J. ANDERSON

* *

On his fumble

“I just ran into the [hole], and the one time I decide to try to make them miss and he just put his hand on the ball. I just can’t do that to my teammates. It just hurts. We might not have lost because of me.”

On how he felt about his fumble

“I didn’t make the play. [LB] Vontaze [Burfict] made the play and I didn’t. Somebody has to win and I just wasn’t the winner on that play.”

On what Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy said to him in the locker room

“He said I’ve been playing my butt off all year, but that one play, I didn’t lose the game. I hear Mike, but I’m not feeling that. If I don’t do that, then [WR] A.J. [Green] doesn’t score. Who knows how the outcome turns. That’s just on me. That stuff hurts. I put my heart and soul into this.”

CORNERBACK CHRIS HARRIS JR.

On losing for the sixth consecutive time

“It’s a reality. It’s where we are at. We aren’t playing good football and we just have to keep fighting.”

On how team with talent can lose six in a row

“Apparently they have more talent than us, I guess.”

On hearing the phrase ‘playing for pride’

“You try to do whatever you can to make plays the rest of the year and I don’t know if we still have a chance, I don’t know. We just need to come back to work with a little energy and get ready for the Raiders. It’s a big rivalry.”

*On losing the turnover battle in all of the losses this season *

“We can’t get out of the funk. It’s every game and the same way we lose. We changed up our style of practice this week and I thought that helped us. We played better, but we still weren’t good enough to get a win.”

On whether the team was confident at the end of the game

“We are still confident. We wanted to try to give them the field. There were some tough pass interference calls at the end. We tried to get them down the field and that kind of hurts a bit but we are just trying to give the offense a little more time.”

On the mood in the locker room after the game

“It’s not a good mood at all. We lost [six] straight in a row. We can’t figure out how to win.”

On President of Football Operations and General Manager John Elway calling the team a little soft

“Everybody in this organization is accountable for how we are playing right now.”

INSIDE LINEBACKER BRANDON MARSHALL

* *

On President of Football Operations and General Manager John Elway calling the team a little soft

“We definitely didn’t take kindly to those remarks. I understand this is his team and he put it together, so his name is on it, but it’s our skin in the game. Nobody is soft on this team. We work our butt off and we work hard. We play hard and we go out there and give it 100 [percent] every game and every practice. We just fall short.”

On the defensive improvements this week

“The last two weeks weren’t necessarily the best for us. We wanted to get back to how we play, and we did. We played well. We gave up too many touchdowns though. They got three touchdowns, and that’s our demise. I thought we played well as a unit.”

On if it’s harder to be motivated when the team is struggling

“Yeah, it’s definitely hard. I remember when I was in Jacksonville and we were 1-9, it was terrible coming to work. Honestly, you can kind of feel in the stadium that there was no energy. I kind of felt it, it was real quiet in there. We just have to keep pushing and keep working. I’m a big believer in not ever giving up. No matter what, you push through to the end. I’m going to always push through and I know the guys will.”

NOSE TACKLE DOMATA PEKO SR.

* *

*On the loss *

“This one kind of hurt a lot more with it being an old team. I feel like today, defensively, we got after them. They had a couple big plays to A.J. Green that we have to get better at, but as far as stopping the run they had 20 or 30 yards rushing. We got after [QB] Andy [Dalton] and got him on his back a couple times. We played well for the most part, but not well enough. They got the ‘W’ today. A big shout out to them for taking advantage of our mistakes and getting the ‘W’ there at the end.”

On if the game feels like déjà vu

“It does kind of feel like déjà vu, but I feel like defensively we played a lot better than we have in the past two weeks. In the past two weeks, we have given up a lot of big plays. I feel like today we were playing like ourselves a little bit and getting back to what we do, hitting people in the mouth and shutting them down. It sucks to lose six in a row now. It’s very frustrating.”

*On how the team can move forward *

“We’ve just got to get better and go back to work, keep grinding. That’s what football is about. It’s about grinding and it’s about competition. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m just going to go to work and continue to come with energy, positivity and just try to get over this hump. We have a division game next week against Oakland and we need to bounce back against them. It was tough one today and I feel that our defense played better.”

On how the team reacted to President of Football Operations/GM John Elway saying the team had gotten a little soft

“I agree. Losing five in a row, that’s soft. How many turnovers we’ve been giving away, that’s soft. Dropping punt returns, that’s softness. Letting people run on us last week and the week before, that’s what coach [Vance Joseph] was telling us too and he showed us that last night. I feel like today we were out there playing hard as hell. I didn’t feel too soft today out there, I felt really good. That’s just constructive criticism that, as a man, you’ve got to take it. It’s starts at the top and rolls its way down. Coach [Joseph] said it best, he called us all that. We’ve just got to come out here and keep working hard and get through that.”

*On his emotions at the end of the game *

“It was really emotional because I was there for a decade. I was there for 11 seasons. That’s all I knew was Bengals football. All I knew was Paul Brown Stadium and the Jungle. It was part of me. For me to lose, that really hurt me personally. It also hurts as a team of course. That’s what I’m about. I’m about team-first. I really wanted to get that ‘W’ today. I feel like I was out there doing my job and doing my part and that’s all we can do, control what you can.”

SAFETY JUSTIN SIMMONS

* *

On what the defense could have done to change the momentum

“There was a lot of stuff defensively we could’ve made it a lot easier on the offense instead of giving up the touchdown on the last series making it a 20-10 game. Make them kick a field goal instead. You never know what could happen at that point, 16-10 we would have gone up 17-16, it would be a different ball game. Defensively we can only control what we do when were on the field, so when were out there we have to do our job and make sure we hold them, if they’re in the red zone already hold them to a field goal. If we turn the ball over on our side of the field, we have to stop them and make them punt and that is just our job.”

On the big stop at the end of the game and giving the offense the ball

“We gave the offense about a 1:50 left with no timeouts, ideally, that’s pretty good. We felt comfortable where we were but also, if you go back and look at that series we had them on two or three third downs, and we didn’t get a stop until we were all the way at the 50-yard line. We burned some timeouts, and when you look at it like that we could’ve gave the offense some more timeouts there at the end of the game, which could’ve helped our play calling and drive a little bit better offensively. It’s a team game. We have to do a lot better of running our offense.”

SAFETY DARIAN STEWART

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On the frustration in the locker room

“It’s frustrating. We still have to go to work and find a way to get a win, but it’s definitely frustrating. We’re putting in the work throughout the week and then coming out here and falling short. It’s definitely frustrating.”

On if this feels like this is the end of their playoff hopes

“I don’t know. We’re going to keep hope alive and keep working. We have a division game next week and that’s most important. We’ve got to find a way to stay up in the division.”

On President of Football Operations/GM John Elway’s comments on the team being a little soft

“He’s the boss. He made this team, and if he feels like it’s soft, then that’s what it is. Our play has shown it. We’ve dropped six, or five, I’ve lost count. This stuff is frustrating and we need to find a way to get it together. It’s definitely motivating. As a man, you take pride, and anytime somebody calls you soft you want to come out and prove you’re not soft. We fell short today.”

On moving forward

“It’s back to work. There’s not anything we can do and we can’t dwell on this. We have six more games and we can’t worry about it. We just have to play. This hurt right now, we soak it in, and then we go back to on Monday.”

WIDE RECEIVER DEMARYIUS THOMAS

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On President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway’s comment that the team has gotten a little soft

“It was a big reaction. It felt like he was basically calling out everybody, the players, the coaches and everybody that has something to do with what’s going on. [Head] Coach [Vance Joseph] mentioned it last night to remind everybody. I felt like everybody came out and fought hard, but we came up short.”

* *

On today being the team’s sixth consecutive lost

“To tell you the truth, I know you all get tired of me saying the same stuff every week. I feel like the effort has been there every week, it’s just the turnovers. You can’t win in this game with the turnovers and you can’t win in this game with the negative plays on offense. We do something good on offense and then we go backwards. You can’t beat anybody in the NFL with that--I don’t care how good you defense is; I don’t care how good some of the players you have on your squad are. You can’t do it.”

* *

On whether today’s game felt like the last chance to keep the season alive

“It did, but you know you never know. I don’t know where we fit, we’re probably close to last. I don’t know, but we came out to try to get this one and put ourselves in a position that hopefully we’d get a chance in the playoffs. We still came up short so we’re just going to keep going and we’re going to play the last six games. I hope everybody plays with the fight like they should play and we’ll see what happens from there.”

* *

Onhis reaction to Elway’s comments

“I just think he’s telling the truth. He wouldn’t have said it if he wasn’t telling the truth. We’ve lost six in a row, I think there’s a little softness in us somewhere and he’s talking about everybody, including me. I try to make my game better every week. We just have to figure it out, like I say every week and go from there. I really don’t know what to say.”

On the offensive struggles

“It’s an itch we can’t get rid of and hopefully, I’m not going to say hopefully, we figure it out this week and go to Oakland and try to bring one back home. I haven’t felt this in a long time, I haven’t seen the fans boo us in a long time and it hurt. We’ve got to do something. We go through work, we practice hard, everybody practices hard, watch every position, we are putting the work in, the coaches are coaching us, but [expletive] we still come up short.”

DEFENSIVE END DEREK WOLFE

* *

On whether he thinks the team is bad

“I don’t think that’s the case. I think we’re a good team. I just think we’re not putting it together. It’s like turnovers have killed us. We’re not getting any on defense and we’re giving them up on offense. If you’re going to give up one a game on offense, we need to get two or three, like two years ago. We would get two or three a game, three or four sacks a game. That’s not happening.”

On why the defense is struggling for forced turnovers

“I really have no idea. We practice it every week. We practice punching the ball. If you see me, I’m making tackles trying to rip it out. They’re just not letting it go. You have to talk to them. Tell them to let it go.”

On President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway calling the team a little soft

“He’s the boss. Whatever he says, goes. If that’s how he feels, then we have to make sure he doesn’t feel that way. The boss says it’s not good enough, that means everybody is not doing good enough. I’m just trying to make sure we stay together. We have to stick together through times like this. I haven’t been through something like this since I’ve been in the league. I went through this in college and the next year we bounced back. This is very unacceptable. We’re going out there, we start a good drive, boom, pick. It’s a touchdown or blocked field goal. I don’t know what else I can do. I’m playing as hard as I can possibly play. I’m doing everything I can to try to win. I’m trying to rip the ball out. I’m trying to get sacks. I’m trying to apply pressure. I’m trying to bat balls.”

On the team sticking together

“People are obviously going to get nippy with each other. You just have to get in between that and be like, ‘Hey. Look, we have to stick together. We’re all we got.’ Everybody is against us now. Everybody hates us. Nobody likes us. When you’re losing, nobody likes you. Nobody likes a loser. They want winners, so we’re all we got. We have to stick together.”

On why the team keeps losing

“I could sit here and tell you the same answers I’ve been telling you since Week 5, but it’s the same stuff, the same old stuff. It’s the same old turnovers. That’s the story—turnover—that one turnover and the blocked field goal. We gave up some big plays on defense—some holding calls and stuff that I don’t see that as being a call. But, whatever. We just should have won that game. We put ourselves in a good place to win that game and we didn’t.”

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